Edward Davis Townsend was born on August 22, 1817, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Eliza Townsend. He grew up and attended school in Boston, and he graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1837. He received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 2^nd United States Artillery, and he took part in the Second Seminole War and the relocation of the Cherokee Nation.

 

He married Ann Wainwright on May 8, 1848, and they had at least four children: Thomas, born around 1850; Edward, born around 1852; Henrieta, born around 1859; and Eliza, born around 1861. He served on the Pacific coast from 1851 until 1856, and he spent the rest of his military career in Washington, D.C. By 1860, he employed at least four Black domestic servants.

 

During the Civil War, one eulogist later wrote, Townsend was the “principal executive officer of the War Department, and was perhaps brought into more intimate personal contact with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton than was any other office.” He was promoted to brigadier general in 1869. He retired in 1880, and he died in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 1893.

 

Image: Edward D. Townsend (Courtesy Wikicommons)

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